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Peter C. Britton, Ph.D.

Peter C. Britton, Ph.D.

About Me

Dr. Peter Britton is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He is also an investigator at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, at the Canandaigua VA Medical Center. His research focuses ...
Dr. Peter Britton is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He is also an investigator at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, at the Canandaigua VA Medical Center. His research focuses on studying risk and protective factors and for suicide attempts and overdoses and developing and testing preventive interventions, with a particular interest in Veterans. Since 2012, Dr. Britton has been conducting a randomized controlled trial testing Motivational Interviewing to Address Suicidal Ideation with Psychiatrically hospitalized Veterans at high-risk for suicide that is funded by a career development award from Department of Veterans Affairs, Clinical Science Research and Development (CSR&D). He also conducts analysis of VA Suicide Prevention Application Network (SPAN) and Suicide Data Repository (SDR) data, and is co-investigator on grants testing a Veteran Crisis Line facilitation intervention and examining opioid misuse among reintegrating Veterans.

Faculty Appointments

Associate Professor - Department of Psychiatry, Research (SMD)

Credentials

Post-doctoral Training & Residency

University of Arkansas, Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology (Ph.D.) 2005 - 2007

Prevention of Suicide (CSPS), National Research Services Award (NRSA) 2005 - 2007

Postdoctoral Fellow (T32 MH20061-04; Conwell, PI) 2005 - 2007

Education

Doctor of Philosophy | University of Arkansas. Clinical Psychology. 2005

Doctoral Internship | University of Rochester. Medical Center. 2005

Masters | University of Arkansas. Clinical Psychology. 2001

Bachelor | University of Pittsburgh. Psychology. 1997

Awards

Research Society on Alcoholism Travel Grant. 2001

Research Society on Alcoholism Travel Grant. 1999

Publications

Journal Articles

Collaboration and consent in decisions to initiate emergency dispatches for suicide risk: A national qualitative study.

Denneson LM, Tompkins K, Hindenburg MM, Reguinga A, Bohnert KM, Ganoczy DA, Ilgen MA, Britton PC

Suicide & life-threatening behavior.. 2025 April 55 (2):e13142. Epub 11/08/2024.

The Veterans Crisis Line: Relations among immediate call outcomes and treatment contact and utilization following the call.

Britton PC, Karras E, Stecker T, Klein J, Crasta D, Brenner LA, Pigeon WR

Suicide & life-threatening behavior.. 2024 August 54 (4):741-749. Epub 04/30/2024.

Psychiatric diagnoses, somatic disorders, and emergency dispatches among individuals who used a national suicide crisis line.

Britton PC, Bohnert KM, Denneson LM, Ganoczy D, Ilgen MA

Journal of psychiatric research.. 2024 June 174 :114-120. Epub 04/10/2024.

Reasons for contacting a crisis line and the initiation of emergency dispatches.

Britton PC, Bohnert KM, Denneson LM, Ganoczy D, Ilgen MA

Preventive medicine.. 2024 April 181 :107899. Epub 02/17/2024.

Analysis of veterans crisis line data: Temporal factors associated with the initiation of emergency dispatches.

Britton PC, Bohnert KM, Denneson LM, Ganoczy D, Ilgen MA

Suicide & life-threatening behavior.. 2023 August 53 (4):538-545. Epub 04/09/2023.

Veterans Crisis Line Call Outcomes: Treatment Contact and Utilization.

Britton PC, Karras E, Stecker T, Klein J, Crasta D, Brenner LA, Pigeon WR

American journal of preventive medicine.. 2023 May 64 (5):658-665. Epub 02/17/2023.

The Living Ladder: Introduction and Validity Over 6-Month Follow-Up of a One-Item Measure of Readiness to Continue Living in Suicidal Patients.

Britton PC, Conner KR, Maisto SA

Suicide & life-threatening behavior.. 2020 October 50 (5):1025-1040. Epub 03/28/2020.

Opioid use disorders, psychiatric comorbidities, and risk for suicide attempts among veterans seeking pain care.

Ashrafioun L, Zerbo KRA, Bishop TM, Britton PC

Psychological medicine.. 2020 September 50 (12):2107-2112. Epub 09/16/2019.

Toward an assessment of escape/avoidance coping in depression.

Haskell AM, Britton PC, Servatius RJ

Behavioural brain research.. 2020 March 2381 :112363. Epub 11/15/2019.

Motivational Interviewing to Address Suicidal Ideation: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Veterans.

Britton PC, Conner KR, Chapman BP, Maisto SA

Suicide & life-threatening behavior.. 2020 February 50 (1):233-248. Epub 08/08/2019.

Between- and within-person associations between opioid overdose risk and depression, suicidal ideation, pain severity, and pain interference.

Cleland CM, Bennett AS, Elliott L, Rosenblum A, Britton PC, Wolfson-Stofko B

Drug and alcohol dependence.. 2020 January 1206 :107734. Epub 11/14/2019.

The Association of Pain Intensity and Suicide Attempts Among Patients Initiating Pain Specialty Services.

Ashrafioun L, Kane C, Bishop TM, Britton PC, Pigeon WR

The journal of pain.. 2019 July 20 (7):852-859. Epub 01/25/2019.

Insomnia and risk for suicidal behavior: A test of a mechanistic transdiagnostic model in veterans.

Britton PC, McKinney JM, Bishop TM, Pigeon WR, Hirsch JK

Journal of affective disorders.. 2019 February 15245 :412-418. Epub 11/05/2018.

Suicide mortality among male veterans discharged from Veterans Health Administration acute psychiatric units from 2005 to 2010.

Britton PC, Bohnert KM, Ilgen MA, Kane C, Stephens B, Pigeon WR

Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology.. 2017 September 52 (9):1081-1087. Epub 04/11/2017.

Development of an opioid-related Overdose Risk Behavior Scale (ORBS).

Pouget ER, Bennett AS, Elliott L, Wolfson-Stofko B, Almeñana R, Britton PC, Rosenblum A

Substance abuse.. 2017 38 (3):239-244. Epub 01/23/2017.

Considerations in the Use of Interactive Voice Recording for the Temporal Assessment of Suicidal Ideation and Alcohol Use.

Bishop TM, Maisto SA, Britton PC, Pigeon WR

Crisis.. 2016 September 37 (5):370-376. Epub 07/22/2016.

Suicide attempts among alcohol-dependent pain patients before and after an inpatient hospitalization.

Ashrafioun L, Kane C, Stephens B, Britton PC, Conner KR

Drug and alcohol dependence.. 2016 June 1163 :209-15. Epub 04/25/2016.

Suicide Risk Documented During Veterans' Last Veterans Affairs Health Care Contacts Prior to Suicide.

Denneson LM, Kovas AE, Britton PC, Kaplan MS, McFarland BH, Dobscha SK

Suicide & life-threatening behavior.. 2016 June 46 (3):363-74. Epub 02/01/2016.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia and Imagery Rehearsal in Combat Veterans with Comorbid Posttraumatic Stress: A Case Series.

Bishop TM, Britton PC, Knox KL, Pigeon WR

Military behavioral health.. 2016 4 (1):58-64. Epub 09/30/2015.

Comorbid depression and alcohol use disorders and prospective risk for suicide attempt in the year following inpatient hospitalization.

Britton PC, Stephens B, Wu J, Kane C, Gallegos A, Ashrafioun L, Tu X, Conner KR

Journal of affective disorders.. 2015 November 15187 :151-5. Epub 08/25/2015.

Basic psychological needs, suicidal ideation, and risk for suicidal behavior in young adults.

Britton PC, Van Orden KA, Hirsch JK, Williams GC

Suicide & life-threatening behavior.. 2014 August 44 (4):362-71. Epub 02/03/2014.

Authors' response to commentary on suicidal ideas and immediate suicide risk.

Britton PC, Ilgen MA, David Rudd M, Conner KR

Psychiatry research.. 2013 October 30209 (3):747. Epub 08/09/2013.

Influences on call outcomes among veteran callers to the National Veterans Crisis Line.

Britton PC, Bossarte RM, Thompson C, Kemp J, Conner KR

Suicide & life-threatening behavior.. 2013 October 43 (5):494-502. Epub 04/24/2013.

Sleep disturbance preceding suicide among veterans.

Pigeon WR, Britton PC, Ilgen MA, Chapman B, Conner KR

American journal of public health.. 2012 March 102 Suppl 1 (Suppl 1):S93-7. Epub 01/25/2012.

Integrating Motivational Interviewing and Self Determination Theory with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Prevent Suicide.

Britton PC, Patrick H, Wenzel A, Williams GC

Cognitive and behavioral practice.. 2011 February 18 (1):16-27. Epub 1900 01 01.

Reasons for living, hopelessness, and suicide ideation among depressed adults 50 years or older.

Britton PC, Duberstein PR, Conner KR, Heisel MJ, Hirsch JK, Conwell Y

The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.. 2008 September 16 (9):736-41. Epub 1900 01 01.

Self-determination theory, motivational interviewing, and the treatment of clients with acute suicidal ideation.

Britton PC, Williams GC, Conner KR

Journal of clinical psychology.. 2008 January 64 (1):52-66. Epub 1900 01 01.

Suicide attempts among individuals with opiate dependence: the critical role of belonging.

Conner KR, Britton PC, Sworts LM, Joiner TE

Addictive behaviors.. 2007 July 32 (7):1395-404. Epub 11/13/2006.

Reliability of the UCLA Loneliness Scale in opiate dependent individuals.

Britton PC, Conner KR

Journal of personality assessment.. 2007 June 88 (3):368-71. Epub 1900 01 01.

The relations among varieties of adult attachment and the components of empathy.

Britton PC, Fuendeling JM

The Journal of social psychology.. 2005 October 145 (5):519-30. Epub 1900 01 01.